{"id":15660,"date":"2014-06-19T15:12:01","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T15:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zatista.com\/blog\/?p=15660"},"modified":"2014-06-19T15:12:01","modified_gmt":"2014-06-19T15:12:01","slug":"orleanss-art-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zatista.co.uk\/blog\/2014\/06\/19\/orleanss-art-community\/","title":{"rendered":"New Orleans Art Community…"},"content":{"rendered":"

…One of the Strongest in the Country.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never been to New Orleans, put it on your ever growing bucket list. Its art and music scene is unlike any other city. With talent lining each street, the walks are beautiful and the opportunity to stumble upon your favorite piece of art happens twice a minute.<\/p>\n

In this city, re-built to its former glory pre-Katrina, there is a huge connected community that loves its home. The people embrace their art by adding it to every structure and avenue they have. I live in Philadelphia, home of the most murals in the U.S., and even I was impressed. Some of the stores had walls of art just to accent whatever they were selling. The photos below are from Sugar and Spice, its back wall setting the tone of the story. You can get the idea of what kind of city this is with beauty built into its walls.<\/p>\n

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Photo credit: Darian Muka<\/p><\/div>\n

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Photo credit: Darian Muka<\/p><\/div>\n

In New Orleans, I met and interviewed two artists who loved their craft and worked hard to keep it their own. When I walked in to Adrian Fulton\u2019s studio, I was happily full of gumbo and fried green tomatoes, just having an evening stroll. Seeing as it was a little after 10pm, Adrian\u2019s windows were the only bright beacons on a long line of closed galleries. I peaked inside and saw him painting, his dog sleeping next to him. I walked in, trying not to disturb his concentration, but he was happy to have company. He was warm and inviting, telling about how much he enjoyed working and selling his art in this place, meeting people from across the country. Adrian is from Germantown, Pennsylvania, not far from where I live. He moved to New Orleans after joining the army, but he has been painting since he was four years old.<\/p>\n

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Untitled by Adrian Fulton<\/p><\/div>\n

New Orleans renewed his inspiration, \u201cThe diversity and the French Quarter inspire me; it\u2019s like an outdoor art market.\u201d\u00a0Adrian says that he enjoys being an artist for the economic independence, the daily freedom, and the respect. His most interesting patron has been Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he enjoys selling to all of his customers. I asked him which was his favorite out of the many many paintings in this studio, and he replied, \u201cI have no favorite, because they are all my favorite.\u201d\u00a0If he ever leaves the studio, Adrian wants to become a mentor to other aspiring artists. In an ever-growing and re-building city like New Orleans Adrian says, \u201cI enjoy helping people and being part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NOLA artist Chis Holcombe Photo credit: Darian Muka<\/p><\/div>\n

Another local artist, Chris Holcombe, is not a native of New Orleans, but like many of the artists here, he came to love its art culture. Chris moved after a journey around the country, \u201cInspired by my introduction to Zen Buddhism, I left everything behind in search of my-self or no-self, however you like to put it.\u201d \u00a0Chris says he has always been an artist. He found that New Orleans was the type of city that had a strong art community at street level. \u201cHere in New Orleans there is opportunity to do whatcha want under the sun with people \u2014 real people \u2014unlike other places I’ve been where there is no social nucleus for the arts as concentrated as the Vieux Carr\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n

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"Corner Building of Rue Royal" by Chis Holcombe<\/p><\/div>\n

Like Adrian, Chris wants to impact the world, and to him, being an artist is the best way to do that. It gives him the freedom to explore things like the universal body and the mind. Selling art is not in the big picture, although it is necessary, he more enjoys sharing it. \u201cI may sell one painting today but a thousand people walked by and saw me painting in the alley, one feeds the soul and the other the belly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cPirates Ally at Night\u201d by Chis Holcombe<\/p><\/div>\n

Chris doesn\u2019t have a favorite piece. He thinks that his best is yet to come. I asked him who the most interesting character that he sold art to was and he was adamant, \u201cAmzie Adams, without a doubt.\u201d Adams is a nationally recognized artist. He was a jack of all trades in New Orleans for forty years with talents including poetry, acting, music and of course art. Chris enjoys art as well as poetry, so Adams was a real joy to sell art to.\u00a0I asked Chris what he wanted to be doing in ten years\u2014 moving to a gallery, renting his own studio, selling online, enjoying selling to the people? He responded, \u201cEverything, all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cPirates Alley\/ Faulkner House\u201d by Chis Holcombe<\/p><\/div>\n

I asked Chris about Pirates Alley, which was my favorite of the bunch. \u201cI actually painted this from the view just down the street of the buildings and he Faulkner house. Go take a look, they\u2019re really beautiful.\u201d And off I went to check out the wonderful inspiration New Orleans could be.<\/p>\n

My bucket list has been half checked off. I came home with art, but vowed to go back to New Orleans again, because the artists will change and evolve, the city will grow, but the community will stay strong. On a scale of one to holy-cow-that\u2019s-a-lot-of-great-art, NOLA gets a ten.<\/p>\n

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